The surname Matheson has more than one anglicization of its Scottish Gaelic derivation.[3] The historian Black attributes Matheson to the Gaelic Mic Mhathghamhuin which means son of the bear, and the clan chief's arms carry two bears as supporters.[3] It has also been suggested that MacMhathain means son of the heroes.[3] The Scottish Lowland version of Matheson means simply son of Matthew.[3]
As the Lords of the Isles lost power so did the Mathesons.[3] The Mathesons then found themselves involved in the feuding between the Clan MacDonald and the Clan Mackenzie.[3] Iain Dubh Matheson was killed defending the Mackenzie stronghold Eilean Donan Castle, of which he had become constable of after marrying the widow of Sir Dugald Mackenzie.[3] Dougal MacRuadhri Matheson sat in Parliament and was Prior of Beauly between 1498 and 1514.[3]
All genealogies of the clan agree that the next chief was the undisputed Murdoch Buidhe(yellow haired) who died in about 1602.[3]
17th and 18th centuries
Murdoch had two sons, Roderick and Dugald.[3] Duglad was styled of Balmacara and he rose to become chamberlain of Lochalsh in 1631.[3] Dugald was the ancestor of John Matheson of Attadale whose grandson, John, was forced to sell their Highland estates.[3]
Another branch of the Clan Matheson who had settled on the north side of Loch Shin had been ballies to the Earls of Sutherland in the late 15th century.[3] Donald Matheson of Shin fought against the Jacobites during the Jacobite rising of 1715.[3] Meanwhile, the chiefship of the clan had descended through a line who were descended from Dugald of Balmacara's elder brother, Roderick Matherson.[3] They acquired lands on the Black Isle that were known as Bennetsfield.[3] Unlike his cousins in Sutherland, John Matheson, second of Bennetsfield was a Jacobite who fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.[3] Of the members of the Clan Matheson who supported the British Government during the Jacobite rising of 1745, it is recorded that a Kenneth Mathisom was a lieutenant in the Independent Highland Company that was formed by the town of Inverness and a John Mathison was also a lieutenant in one of the Independent Highland Companies formed by the Clan Mackenzie chief, also to support the British Government.[6]
Current chief
The current chief is Sir Alexander Fergus Matheson, 8th Baronet, who now resides in Norfolk, England.
There is also a branch of Clan Matheson that reside in Norway. They went to Norway as mercenaries with Major Jacob Jacob Matheson in 1612, fighting for the Scots. They were captured, but did not return to Scotland. They were later ennobled by the Dano-Norwegian crown as counts and barons.
Clan Castles
Fort Matheson, now a ruin, was the original seat of the Chief of the Clan Matheson.
Bennetsfield near Munlochy in Easter Ross is the site of a castle or old house. It was held by the Mathesons from the end of the seventeenth century and this branch of the clan became the chiefs. John Matheson, 2nd of Benetsfield fought for the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, although most of his clan supported the government.[8]
Shiness near Lairg in Sutherland is the site of a castle or old house. It was held by the Mathesons from the fifteenth century who were ballies to the Earls of Sutherland. Donald Matheson of Shiness fought against the Jacobites in the Jacobite rising of 1715. The property went to the Dukes of Sutherland in 1809.[8]
Clan chiefs
Name
Dates
Comments
Lochalsh branch
Mathghamhain
fl. 1225
Kenneth
died 1304
Murdoch
fl. 14th century
Duncan
fl. 14th century
Murdoch
fl. 14th century
Duncan
fl. 14th century
Murdoch
fl. c. 1400
Alasdair
died 1427 or 1438
Either executed by King James I in 1427 or killed by the MacKays at Battle of Cnoc nan Catach in 1438
1234Coventry, Martin (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p.441. ISBN978-1-899874-36-1.
